Inscriptional Pahlavi

Official script of the Sasanian Persian Empire (224–651 AD). Derived from Aramaic, it was used for Zoroastrian scriptures (Avesta) and Manichaean texts. Uniquely, it used "heterography" — writing Aramaic words but pronouncing them in Persian (Aramaic spelling, Persian pronunciation). Replaced by Arabic after the Islamic conquest (7th century), but Parsi Zoroastrian communities still use it in religious ceremonies today.